Top 10 Mythological Gods of Death

The reputation of this entry is obvious right from its English translation: “Death Bat”. Camaztoz are minor deities that lurk within Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. They’re most often associated with the ritual of sacrifice, death and darkness, and can prove to be vicious little buggers for anyone who crosses their path. One particular story about the Camaztoz can be found in the Popul Vuh, a collection of stories recounting the history of the K’iche’ people. According to the tale, one of these bat-like monsters actually snatched off someone’s head for the gods in their next sporting event! We wonder how many points a human head would be worth from the free-throw line?

Siberian mythology says Erlik was God’s first creation, though his hubris eventually saw him expelled to the underworld. In Turkic and Mongolian legends, Erlik is the god of death and hell who, nevertheless, had a role in the creation of the world. Despite this, Erlik is still responsible for darkness, disease and evil spirits. He’s said to bring about bad luck and illness to humanity thanks to the spirits he created--you know, the whole ‘death’ deal. Oh, and his appearance is described as being monstrous. He’s an aged male with a muscular body--which itself can be quite off-putting to imagine. But, even more frightening is his pig face, sharp teeth, and black eyes. He demands sacrifice from all, and can be known to be vindictive should he feel that he’s not been properly acknowledged.

#8: Santa Muerte

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Contrary to other gods on this list, Santa Muerte is simultaneously associated with both death and healing. She is also said to provide safe guidance to the afterlife. This deity of Mexican heritage is known as ‘Our Lady of the Holy Death’ in Spanish, and she’s often prayed to for protection against a wide variety of things, from witchcraft to gun violence. Shrines are also devoted to Santa Muerte, with alms and trinkets offered to skeletal idols that represent her. Interestingly, Santa Muerte isn’t seen as a dead human being, like other saints are. She’s also the only saint associated with death in Latin America that’s depicted as female - despite originally being depicted as male. That’s some girl power right there!

#7: Mot

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Top 10 Mythological Gods Of The Underworld

Mot and Baal are two gods referred to in the Hebrew Bible, among other texts. Mot is often considered a personification of death, with his name literally meaning the word in several languages. He was worshiped by Hewbrews, by the Phonecians, and the people of Ugarit in ancient times. Both Baal and Mot come from Ugaritic texts, an extinct Semitic language that contained its own mythological stories prior to the writing of the Bible. Some sources even link the Jewish Passover tradition to Mot and Baal’s violent conflict, right down to the consuming of lamb, as Mot supposedly devours Baal in a similar fashion.

Hey, even Death needs a little help once in a while, and when that moment comes, Shinigami will be ready. These gods are found in certain corners of Japanese mythology, and they’re usually connected with influencing the demise of humans. While some say the death spirits are known to possess people and push them to take their own lives, other stories claim that Shinigami decide the moments of people’s deaths. There have even been a number of pop culture programs that feature some iteration of The Shinigami, such as the anime series “Bleach” and “Death Note.”

Anubis is only one of the multiple Egyptian gods that are associated with death. This judge - previously associated with a jackal head, but is now more accurately described as a wolf - weighs the hearts of souls that are attempting to enter the underworld against the feather of Ma’at, which represents concepts like truth, morality, balance, and justice. If the sins of the deceased person’s heart weighs too heavy on the scales, the soul is doomed to be devoured by Ammit, the devourer of the dead. Anubis is also closely associated with the mummification process, embalming, and graves, which isn’t super out of left field considering those are all things connected to death. Interestingly, Anubis is one of the most popular Egyptian gods, but isn’t actually featured in all that many stories. Guess he’s a pretty busy guy!

We’re heading to Mesopotamia for our next death entry: the war god Nergal. Most mythological narratives describe Nergal as a co-ruler of the underworld alongside his consort Ereshkigal. Beyond this, Nergal was also presented as a god of destruction and, also, of the summer sun. The two are more linked than you think, as the heat of the sun would often destroy harvests. A combination of Ares and Hades wouldn’t be too far off from describing him, although unlike these gods, Nergal was worshipped by households seeking protection from evil or enemies. Nergal even receives mention in the Hebrew Bible, named as the god of the city Cuth.

There were reportedly nine levels in the Aztec underworld of Mictlan, and all of them take a knee to Mictlantecuhtli as their king. Mictlantecuhtli is perhaps the best known of the Aztec death gods, comparable to the Mayan god Ah Puch, in his chiefdom as ruler of the underworld. He was usually portrayed as either a bloody skeleton or a man wearing a skull head with eyes. It was the worship of Mictlantecuhtli that often connects the modern-day idea of ritual sacrifice to ancient Aztec cultures. Bats, spiders, owls, and other nocturnal animals are sacred to him, and he is said to live in darkness with his wife, Mictecacihuatl, welcoming the dead into their grasp.

Hey, here’s a horrible thought: what if the lord of the underworld actually gained strength by eating the dead bodies in the underworld? And, what if, eventually, he were to devour so much of the dead that he'd be strong enough to break free from hell and wreak havoc? Enter Whiro, the death god from New Zealand’s Māori mythology, whose backstory is exactly that. As a result, the Māori culture encouraged cremation if at all possible, so as to deprive Whiro from his… foodsource, if you will. It’s one doozy of a story for what’s otherwise a relatively obscure death deity. He’s known to be reclusive, living in a deep and dark cave and awaiting the day of his return.

Ok, so you all probably all know Hades from the classic tales of ancient Greek mythology, but did you know that Thanatos is actually the god of death? Whereas Hades is in charge of the underworld, Thanatos is the personification of death. He’s the son of Night and brother of Sleep, which makes us think maybe personification runs in the family... Although he’s rarely a central figure in Greek myths, the ones he does make an appearance in are pretty interesting. For example, in one story, King Sisyphus tricks Thanatos into imprisonment, thus making it impossible for anyone to die on earth. For the most part, though, it’s Thanatos who does the imprisoning. When the Fates - his sisters - have decreed a human’s time is up, Thanatos brings them to the underworld.